The present invention is directed to an improved cartridge locking mechanism for use in a tape player device adapted to receive and play a tape cartridge having magnetic tape in endless array and a pinch roller therein.
It is desirable in tape player devices adapted to receive and play tape cartridges to include retention means therein for firmly positioning the tape cartridge in the player device against the tape drive apparatus. One such commercially available retention means is shown in FIG. 1, which is a diagrammatic view of a tape cartridge player illustrating the essential structure necessary for understanding retention devices according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, on the underside of chassis 2 there is pivotally secured a C-shaped lever 14 on which a retention roller 15 is rotatably mounted so as to be engageable with a notch 1b provided on the side wall of the cartridge. As the endless tape cartridge 1 is inserted into the chassis 2, a lever 16, slidably mounted to the chassis 2, is engaged by the front end portion 1c of the cartridge 1 and moved in a forwardly direction. Upon the displacement of the lever 16 by the cartridge front wall 1c, the C-shaped lever 14 is engaged by the lever 16 and rotated against the force of an overcenter spring 17 coupling the chassis 2 to the C-shaped lever 14. When the tape cartridge 1 is nearly fully inserted, the overcenter spring 17 moves past the snap-over or overcenter position and the retention roller mounted on the C-shaped lever 15 engages notch 1b on the side wall of the cartridge to firmly latch the cartridge in the play position in the tape cartridge player.
The above described cartridge locking mechanism requires that the chassis contain tab portions for the several levers necessary to interact together. Such a structure requires considerable time and effort to install and utilizes considerable space within the player. Additionally, because of the need for compact tape players, the locking mechanisms previously available for cartridge type players prevent the development of compact tape player devices.